Second Chance Family
by meganangel234
Summary: On Alex's and Charlie's last day of vacation, they get involved in a shooting. At the hospital, Alex saves a young girl who was shot, and comes to the conclusion that she is being abused at home. After her father is arrested, she has no where to go, so Alex and Charlie decide to be her foster parents.
1. Morning

Sorry the chapter is so short. I just wrote it today. After watching 2x01 I came to the conclusion that Alex would make a great mom, and I got this idea. Reviews are welcome!

The sun was just starting to shine through the window into Alex's eyes. She turned over to block it, noticing that Charlie wasn't next to her. A sudden panic fell over her, and she threw the sheets off of her. "Charlie?", she called. No answer. She walked quickly out of the room and looked down the hall. He must be downstairs, Alex thought.

Alex rushed down the stairs, trying to calm herself. She had been extra worried about Charlie since he woke up from his coma. She wouldn't be able to handle herself if something happened again.

All of a sudden, she heard something fall and Charlie muttering something. She smiled. Alex walked into the kitchen and came up behind Charlie. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his neck.

"Good morning to you too." Charlie said laughing. He turned around and kissed her back.

"What are you doing up so early?" Alex asked him. "We're still on vacation." Alex and Charlie were given vacation time after Charlie woke up from his coma. It was their last day.

"I couldn't sleep. I've been doing that for the past 3 and a half months." Charlie said trying to put some humor into it. Alex gave a small smile, and looked at the ground. The bowl Charlie had dropped was still on the floor, and Alex bent down to pick it up. She placed it on the counter, and turned to the fridge. She took out the milk and then went to the cupboard to get his favourite cereal.

"Alex, I can get my own cereal."

"Charlie..." Alex started, but Charlie interupted.

"I'm fine. I am perfectly capable of making a bowl of cereal. I'm not broken."

Alex stared at him, and cupped his face in her hands. She sighed.

"I know. I'm just, adjusting." Alex replied. She backed away to let Charlie continue preparing his breakfast. She walked around the counter and sat at the island. Charlie handed her a cup of coffee from the coffee maker. Alex thanked him. There was a minute of silence, then Charlie said,

"Here's an idea. How about we spend the day at the mall. It'll help you clear your mind." He went over to sit next Alex, and took her hand.

"What do you say?" Alex gave him a concerned look, but finally answered,

"I think it's a great idea." The gave each other another kiss, and finished their coffe and cereal.


	2. The Shooting

A few hours after Alex and Charlie finished their breakfast, they headed to the mall. Alex drove, being very cautious about her surroundings.

"Alex, an old lady walking just past us." Charlie said.

"I'm just being careful. The mall isn't going anywhere Charlie." Alex sighed. She didn't want to become annoying with her constant caution.

They finally made it to the mall, and got out of the car. Alex walked to Charlie's side of the car and he placed his arm around her shoulder. The both of them made their way into the big front doors, into the world of shopping.

After a few hours of shopping, Charlie and Alex were heading out. All of a sudden, they heard a gun

shot ring out, followed by a man falling to the ground. Everyone fell to the ground trying to stay out of the way of two men shooting at each other. One made his way up the escalator, while the other followed shooting people in the way. Charlie gave Alex one of his famous "it's going to be okay" look, but the fear got the best of her. A young girl remained standing beside Alex, soon grabbing her shoulder and falling. Alex crawled over to her, while Charlie crawled over to a woman shot near him. The two shooters were long gone to the next floor by then, so Charlie shouted,

"Call 911!"

Within minutes, police cars and ambulences pulled up infront of the mall. Paramedics ran in and rushed over to the wounded people, while police officers led others outside. Alex and Charlie helped the paramedics, Alex's main focus the young girl.

"Stay with me. Sweetheart, stay with me!" She cried to the girl. She put pressure on the wound, but the girl was going into shock.

"I need help over here!" Alex yelled to a nearby paramedic. He came over from another victim and got a stretcher for the girl. Charlie was busy with the woman he was helping, but came over to Alex when the paramedics reasurred him they got it. He grabbed her hand and whispered in her ear that it would be alright.

After all the other people were cleared out, the paramedics started bringing out wounded victims to the ambulences. Alex stayed with the girl the entire time, running along side the stretcher. Charlie ran after her, but stopped when she got into the ambulence.

"I'll see you at the hospital Charlie." She said reaching out to touch his hand one more time before they closed the doors and pulled out of the parking lot. Charlie nodded even though she couldn't see him, and jumped into another ambulence.

_**At Hope Zion.**_

"We've got three gun shot wounds coming in!" Alex yelled as he rushed in the hospital. Four other doctors rushed over to help anyway they could. Alex looked around for Charlie, and spotted him outside the hospital doors. As long as he was okay, she could focus on the girl.

"This girl needs to be treated right now!" Alex shouted. The girl was then rushed towards the operating room, Alex by her side.

Because Alex was still considered to be on Vacation, her friend Maggie insisted she wait in the waiting room. After many arguements later, Alex gave in and waited.

"Just do me a favour Maggie. Find out who that girl is for me." Alex asked.

"Sure, no problem." Maggie replied and walked off. Charlie came over minutes later giving Alex a hug.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Maggie made me stay out here and wait while the girl's in surgery."

"Good idea", Charlie said. "After what happened, you shouldn't be in there."

As Alex sat next to Charlie, staring at the clock, Maggie came over.

"Her name is Katie Lawson. She's 15, and lives with her father about 30 minutes from here. I tried to call her house but no one picked up."

"Thanks Maggie. You're the best." Alex said. Maggie smiled and went to check on a patient. Charlie looked over at Alex.

"Why so interesting in that girl?" He asked. Alex looked at him. She thought for a minute before saying,

"I don't know. She's just a kid, and I guess seeing her get shot, got to me somehow." Alex frowned. Charlie kissed her cheek.

"Well, I'm glad you were there." He said smiling. Alex smiled back.

"You did a pretty damn good job yourself there." The two of them sat back in their seats and waited for an update on Katie.


	3. Waking Up

**FYI I changed the location of the wound to her stomach, instead of the shoulder. Enjoy!**

Alex remained in the waiting room, staring at the clock. What is taking so long? She thought. Charlie had gone to check on another patient, so Alex was alone. Then, Maggie came over to her with a smile.

"She's out of surgery." Maggie said, handing Alex a book with Katie's information.

"Thanks." Alex replied. She opened the book and skimmed through the pages. Katie lived with her dad, due to her mother's death only 8 months earlier. The bullet had been lodged right beside the right kidney, causing slight complications during surgery. In the end, Katie had been just fine. Alex closed the book and headed to Katie's room to check on her.

Alex found her room, and looked in at Katie sleeping. She knew she wouldn't be awake for a while, but she felt better seeing her. After a few minutes, Alex was paged by Dawn. She left Katie's room in search for Dawn.

"Hey, you paged?" Alex called to Dawn while still walking towards her.

"Yes, I wanted to know if you knew where Charlie was?" Dawn said.

"You paged me for that? Couldn't you have just paged Charlie?" Alex answers, frustration in her voice. Dawn had been on Alex's case on Charlie since he woke from his coma. Alex felt like she still had feelings for him.

"I figured since he is the chief of surgery he might be busy. You on the other hand probably wouldn't."

Alex hated the way Dawn said the last part of that sentence. She could hear the taunting in her voice.

"Well I don't know. I don't feel the need to follow his every move unlike some people." said Alex.

Dawn stared at her before saying, "Fine. I'll find him myself." And walked away.

Alex rolled her eyes, and turned around to see Joel.

"Can you do me a favour? I have to go to my office for a few minutes, can you check on Katie Lawson for me?" He asked. Alex immedientally replied,

"Sure, no problem." and went back to Katie's room.

_**Katie's P.O.V**_

I slowly opened my eyes, my head absolutely killing me. Last thing I remembered was being at the mall, and then feeling a crap load of pain in my side. I looked around the room, realizing I was in a hospital. A few doctors walked past my room, but none of them looked in. I sat up, a jolt of pain running through me. I grabbed my stomach and shut my eyes, hoping it would go away. Just then, I hear a voice.

"You're awake."

I opened my eyes and saw a woman doctor at the door.

"Are you my doctor?" I asked, my voice barely being above a whisper.

She came over to the side of my bed and pulled over a chair.

"No, he's a bit busy so I was sent to check on you. I'm doctor Reid." She said pointing to her name tag. "

"So Katie, we might as well get to business here." Alex said breaking the silence. "I was imformed that during surgery we noticed bruises on your stomach. Do you want to explain that?"

I opened my mouth to speak, looking down at my bed. I managed a small laugh, and said,

"Lacrosse practice is brutal."

Dr. Reid looked at me carefully, almost as if she didn't believe me. I held my breath. Finally, she nodded.

"I can imagine. Now, about the wound. The bullet had just missed your kidney, which would have been much worse than how it turned out. You are lucky Katie."

Dr. Reid stood up and walked around my bed.

"We're gonna have to get your father to come down here. We called before but no one answered."

That's probably because he's drunk. I thought. Of course, I couldn't say that outloud.

"Oh, he's at work." I lied.

"Well, can you give me his work number?"

I swallowed. I had to quickly make up a number. I blurt out the first set of numbers I could think of, and luckily she bought them.

"I'll be back." Dr. Reid said as she left the room.

I have to get out of here before she finds out it's a random number. I carefully stood up, and made sure the coast was clear. I headed the opposite way that Dr. Reid had gone, and eventually made it to an exit. Before I would get to the doors, a man with a name tag reading Gavin came up to me.

"Hey, shouldn't you be in a room?" He asked, concern in his voice. I always felt bad for having to lie again.

"No, I was just leaving. I muttered trying to get by him. He grabbed my arm, and I freaked out. I pushed him away, alerting other doctors to come over. They tried to calm me down but I was completely gone. Between screams and tears, they managed to poke me with a needle, making me feel light headed and weak. It was the last thing I remembered as things went black, again.


	4. Making Progress

Alex sat in Gavin's office, waiting impatiently for him to look up from Katie's files.

"Any day now Gavin." She finally blurted. Gavin shot his head up, realizing she was still there.

"Oh, sorry. Well, based on what I know and saw, what Katie demonstrated was aggressive behavior towards typcially men. She seemed to be afraid of us. This is very common in children who have been abused.

Alex stood up quickly.

"You're saying she's being abused?"

Gavin closed Katie's file. "Well, that could be the case." He stated. "I'm hoping to get a chance to talk with her when she wakes up." Gavin collected his notes and stood up.

"I'm going over now. You're welcome to come along."

Alex shook her head sadly.

"Thanks but I still have to call her father. You can handle it."

Gavin nodded, and left the room.

Alex walked to the front desk where Maggie stood.

"Maggie, make a call for me." Maggie grabbed the phone.

"Sure, what's the number?" Alex listed the numbers, watching Maggie.

"Hello, this is Hope Zion. Your daughter Katie has been involved in an accident and is in special care..." Maggie stopped. Alex stared at her worrid.

"What, what is it?" She said quickly. Maggie shushed her.

"Okay, thank you." She said before hanging up the phone. She looked at Alex. "Are you sure Katie gave you the right number? The man on the phone had no idea what I was talking about. He doesn't even have a daughter."

Alex stared blankly at Maggie. She turned to go back to Katie's room, but was stopped by Charlie.

"Hey, I need to talk to you." He said. As much as Alex wanted to go see Katie, she had to talk to Charlie first. They headed out to the cafe to get a drink and talk.

_**Katie's P.O.V**_

Once again, I woke up in my hospital bed. Dizzy and confused. I dreaded having anyone come in, knowing they would talk to me about my little incident. But within a few minutes, I got a visitor. I recongizied him from before. He was the one who grabbed my arm. I avoided eye contact, but I did notice he was kind of cute. A lot cute actually. Why did he have to be the one to talk to me?

"Hi Katie. I'm Doctor Murphy. I guess you could call me the hospital shrink. I was hoping we could talk about what happened."

His voice was gentle, almost begging me to talk back. I refused to say anything that could give him any ideas. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke up,

"Well, I guess I can start. Let's start with why you did what you did. Do you know why, or should I list my thoughts?"

My eyes jolted up to his. Did he know? Oh god, what would he do? Who would he tell? Everyone probably. I had to give him some other idea. But he was a shrink, he knows about this kind of stuff.

"I just freaked out. That's all." I whispered.

He nodded.

"But why?"

I shrugged. "I don't know."

Dr. Murphy stared at me. He knows. I can tell. He waited to see if I would add anything, and when I didn't he opened a folder he had in his lap.

"It says here you live with your dad. Does that have anything to do with it?"

I couldn't listen.

"What, you think he hits me? Beats me? Well you couldn't be more wrong." My voice was almost a yell. Dr. Murphy didn't even flinch. He must be used to this from other patients. He probably thinks it's be opening up.

"What about the bruises on your stomach?" He went on. I froze. Who else knew?

"Lacrosse." I managed to say. He nodded again. I can't tell if he believes it. He might know I'm lying.

"You think I'm lying, don't you." I continue.

"No, no, I believe you." He quickly said, sounded surprisingly natrual. This was ridiculous. If he knew something, why not just say it? I pointed at the folder.

"What else you got in there? My whole life story?" He looked down at it, but then looked back up at me.

"If I did, we wouldn't be talking about all this, would we?" He had a point. I'd be more screwed than right now if it did. I was tired. Exhausted actually. I was sick of the talking.

"Look, not to be rude, but I'm tired. Mind if we talk later?" I said, a bit of anger in my tone. He smiled and placed his hand on mine. I looked at it.

"Sure, Katie. No problem." The way he said my name made me feel bad. Why do I let my anger get to me?

He left the room quietly, and I fell back on my pillow. I fell asleep almost instantly, but only for about 5 minutes. I could hear a voice I knew from outside in the hall. A voice I knew, but didn't want to hear.

"Where is she?" The angry voice said.

"Mr. Lawson, calm down. She's in there." It was Dr. Reid's voice. Next thing I knew, my father was rushing into the room. He calm right over to my bed and threw off my sheets.

"We're leaving Katie." He pulled me up, pain going through my stomach and body. Dr. Reid blocked our path.

"Mr. Lawson, you can't do that. Katie needs rest, and she's not in any condition to leave." She said, her voice raised. My dad tried to push her out of the way.

"I need help in here!" She yelled. Another doctor I hadn't seen yet came in and took Dr. Reid's place.

"Sir, you need to let Katie get back into bed. We can talk about this." My dad stopped moving, thinking about what he just was told. He let go of my arm.

"Get in bed." He told me. I did what he said, the pain still eating away at me. Dr. Reid gave me a concerned look, but I nodded in her direction, assuring her I was okay. The other doctor led my dad out of the room, leaving me and Dr. Reid alone.

"He's just stressed." I said. "Work and stuff." She looked sadly at me, but followed my dad out. I sighed. "Here we go."


	5. Putting The Clues Together

Joel and Alex stood in the hall facing Mr. Lawson. They started arguing, and Alex came to the conclusion that he had a bad temper. The thought of Katie possibly being abused passed through her mind, her father filling in the missing piece.

"Dr. Reid." Joel said. Alex didn't respond. She was still deep in thought.

"Alex." He tried again, nudging her. She turned to him.

"Oh, right. Mr. Lawson, Katie will be here for at least another week. The bullet missed her internal organs, but because of slight complications during surgery, we want to keep her here until she is back to full health."

Mr. Lawson shook his head.

"I can't keep coming back and forth." He said, starting to shake back and forth. He was losing balance, so Joel steadied him.

"Mr. Lawson, I need to ask. Were you drinking before you came here?" Mr. Lawson laughed.

"Me? Oh of course not." Joel knew he was lying, so he led him over to an empty chair and sat him down.

"Alex, stay with him. I'll be right back." He told her before leaving. Alex stood infront of him. It was making sense now. The temper, the drinking, the bruises. The thought of it being Katie's own father made Alex cringe. Then, Maggie came over to talk to Alex.

"Hey. So, what happened with Katie. I heard there was some big struggle or something."

Alex turned to Mr. Lawson.

"I'm just going over here. Stay there." She ordered him. He laughed again. Alex took Maggie a few feet away, and quickly checked to see if Mr. Lawson listened to her.

"Katie had a little freak out earlier, but she's fine now. She tried to leave and when Gavin stopped her and touched her arm she started fighting him. He said that what she did was common in kids who have been abused. Katie's father was drinking before he came, and from what I observed, has a temper."

Maggie stared at Alex, her eyes wide.

"You don't think he's abusing her, do you?"

"Well there was bruises on her stomach that they saw during surgery. She said they were from lacrosse, but she seemed hesitant."

Maggie looked past Alex and glared at Katie's father. She looked back at Alex, and nodded.

"Okay. I'll take Mr. Lawson. You go back and check on Katie." She said. Alex thanked her and walked away. She headed back to Katie's room, only to find an empty bed. She sighed.

"Not again." Alex ran out of the room, and saw Joel. "She's gone again." She told him. Joel stopped.

"She couldn't have gone far. I'll look this way." He said and started running in the opposite direction. Alex started searching, looking down every hall and in every room. She finally got to the back of the hospital, and saw Katie. She stopped. Katie sat in a chair, holding her stomach. Alex approached her slowly, not wanted her to take off. Katie heard the footsteps and looked up at Alex.

"I'm sorry." She said quicky. Alex looked at her sadly, realizing she only wanted to get away from her father.

"Katie. You have to stop running off like this. You're not in any condition to be roaming around." Alex told her. Katie rubbed her side. Alex took her arm and pulled her up. "Alright, let's get you back to your room." She said, leading Katie back towards her room. Neither said a word, but Katie spoke up when they got back to her room.

"Sorry about my dad. He wasn't always like that." She told Alex, as she got into her bed. Alex helped pull up the blankets, then sat down on the bed.

"Katie, your dad. He drinks, doesn't he?" Alex asked her. Katie looked away, trying to focus on other things in the room.

"Yeah but, it helps him deal with work. It's hard for him to raise me on his own. My mom died 8 months ago, so it's just us."

Alex was about to speak, when Joel entered the room, grabbing their attention.

"Oh good. You found her. Katie, you gotta stop doing that." He said.

"Yeah yeah, I know." Katie replied. Alex turned back to Katie.

"You, rest. I'll be back later." She said. Katie nodded and Alex stood up and left with Joel.

In the hall, Alex looked around for Katie's father.

"I got a taxi to take him back home. He was definitely drunk." Joel told her. Alex thanked him and went off to find Gavin. She found him talking and laughing with Maggie, but walked right up to them.

"Sorry to interrupt. Gavin, did you talk to Katie?" Alex asked. Maggie gave Gavin a quick look, said goodbye and walked off. Gavin nodded.

"I did, but she didn't say much. I got enough though to know that she's angry. When I mentioned her father, she completely denied being abused. Then again, that's not exactly a topic most people want to discuss."

Alex took in what Gavin told her, then he continued.

"She said she was tired, so we didn't get too far. I'm going to try again later."

"Thank you. You can go find Maggie now." Alex said, teasing him. Before he could answer she walked away.

_**Katie's P.O.V**_

I was finally alone long enough to rest. I was beyond tired, and my side was killing me. The pain killers didn't seem to be helping, but I did not want to call a doctor in. At some point, I fell asleep. I had no idea how long I slept, but eventually I woke up. My eyes fluttered open, and I sat up. The pain wasn't as bad, but the sleep seemed to make me feel more tired. I looked up at the clock on the wall. It was 6:00. They will probably be coming with food soon, I thought. The thought of food made my stomach growl.

After a few more minutes, the man doctor from before came into my room.

"Hey Katie. Remember me? I'm Dr. Goran." I nodded, and he kept talking. "You hungry? I think they're coming around soon."

My stomach growled again, and he smiled.

"I guess so." He said. He walked closer to my bed, and opened a folder he was holding. He flipped through pages, then closed it to look at me. "Katie, on a scale of one to ten how bad is the pain now?"

I thought about it, then answered,

"Four." He nodded.

"How long will I be here?" I asked.

"You should be good to go by the end of the week. Maybe sooner." He told me. Good, I thought. The sooner the better. Just then, a woman came in the room rolling a table with food on it over to my bed.

"Here's dinner sweetheart." She said. Dr. Goran thanked her, and smiled at me. He lifted the tray and placed it over my lap so it would stand.

"You're okay on your own?" He asked me.

"Yes. Thanks." I said. He left me alone, and I started eating.


End file.
